bio filters

[Bigdog]

my tanks 5 weeks old and even after a water change my NO3 is still 30 i know freshwater you dont want to run bio for that reason is saltwater the same?
all my other readings are great any ideas?

 

[robharold]

well, I do not know much about biofilters but At 5 weeks your tank is likely still cycling. This will cause the NO3 to continue to rise until all ammonia and nitrite are gone. Have you tested for those? Results?

What is in the tank? What are you feeding? What kind of water are you topping off with and mixing new water with? Have you tested a new batch?

Sorry for all the questions but NO3 can come from a multitude of sources and depending on the volume of tank and water change you may not even make a dent in it.

 

[Bigdog]

5.5GL. everything else test good im topping off with distilled water my mix i buy from my LFS livestock 1 damsel 1 red leg hermit 1 peppermint shrimp 1 snail

 

[ReefDoctor]

Still cycling unless it was cloned... those #s for that age are about right... hold off and do not add anything else until the numbers drop... currently your "sandbed" and or "Liverock" are still kinda warming up or developing the necessary bacteria to support the upcoming bioload

You can actually track the cycle...

ammonia... Deadly
Nitrites... Sickening
Nitrates... End stage of conversion from the first two harmful forms

As long as the Ammonia levels are still up (I bet they are) the next two variables will remian high as that waste passes through each digestive metamorphasis... your NO3 being high shows that you may possibly be nearing the end of the first cycle... can you fill in the other 2 numbers??